


Monsters in the dark

by Darkhorse



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Astraphobia, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 13:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1470868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhorse/pseuds/Darkhorse





	Monsters in the dark

CRASH  
The boy's eyes flew open, but they saw nothing. There was nothing to see, beyond nothing. Only a blackness which went beyond blackness, which sucked itself into his pupils and down into his lungs as his breath panted rapidly. The boy reached out, a small, pleading hand, too rough and calloused for his age  
“Maman?” Quiet, barely a breath. That was the first rule of living here, don't make any more noise than you need to, or the guards would take him away and he'd never see his maman again. He'd been told repeatedly it was only because he was good for errands and stayed out of the way that he was allowed to remain.  
His hand found nothing but the hard straw which served as a bed for them both. His breathing came faster as he shifted, rising up onto his knees slightly he stretched further.  
A blinding flash of light through the window bars. For a second he glanced about, only to see, not his mother, but a huge black monster, looming nearby.  
Darkness.   
He tried not to breathe, not to make a sound, if he was quiet the monster wouldn't find him here in the dark  
 _CRASH ___  
He dropped, curling into a tight ball, his breath breaking out in quick pants of fear. It sounded like the chain cart on the cobbles if he was being rational, but all his mind could think of was that great shadow beast he'd seen moments before. It was coming for him, coming to eat him up.  
“Maman?” A harsh, desperate croak. She was Roma, she had power. Perhaps it worked for monsters just as it worked to keep Blackbeard off her.  
Silence in the darkness, not even the rats moved. He shivered, pressing back against the stone wall. The monster was here somewhere, why else would the darkness be so pressing.  
 _CRASHRRRRRROOO ___  
Not so close, not so close, his heart hammered. But his mind only heard the growl noise. The wall he was pressed against seemed to have disappeared, and if there was light he knew he would see a huge muzzle, fanged and drooling, opening to eat him  
“Maman, help me.”  
No answer  
 _FLASH CRASH ___  
Everything lit up stark white then plunged to darkness. He screamed, hunching into his corner, pressing his hands even tighter against his ears “Maman!”  
No answer  
 _FLASHCRASH ___  
“MAMAN!”

____It was the scream, not the thunder, that roused Valjean. He blinked before realising the bedroom was in pitch darkness, then reached out for Javert, who lay besdie him. It should be easy to find a six-foot four-inch man, especially when you shared a bed not really meant for two people, but Javert, normally flat on his back, wasn't there. Only on reaching down the empty patch did he collide with a shivering knot of human flesh. Javert would, had there been light to see by, have only been discernible as a lump underneath the blankets, he was curled so tightly. Valjean touched gently, discerning that Javert had his knees up to his chest, his head tucked down and his hands pressed tightly to his ears. And perhaps more importantly, that he was shaking worse than the proverbial leaf.  
The thunder roared outside and Javert flinched, crying out “MAMAN! Maman please!”  
Valjean rolled back over, managing to find the flint and steel on the bedside stand and light his candle. He knelt up, holding the candle stand high as he managed to one-handedly roll the hedgehog-like Javert onto his back. Javert didn't change posture, but shook even more violently. The candlelight glinted on half open eyes, but Valjean saw they were glazed, not seeing this room but somewhere else.  
 _Crash ___  
Javert jerked, landing back on his side and whimpering. Valjean watched, wobbling slightly off balance. The other man was caught in limbo, hearing the thunder at the present time, but seeing somewhere, indeed some-when, completely different. Very carefully he leant over Javert, setting the candle on down on that side instead. He lay down again, wrapping his arms around the trembling ball as best he could.  
“Javert?”  
No tangible response. He shifted his grip, shaking the other man gently by the shoulder “Javert? Javert?”  
Javert rolled to face him, pressing the top of his head into Valjean's chest. It could have been so trusting, but there was an air of desperation and terror to it that soured the moment. He held him, gently trying to rouse him out of his dream.  
Javert broke into a harsh coughing fit, having clearly tried to swallow and breathe in the same moment, then ducked at another roll of thunder, almost overhead. Valjean tightened his grip, his hand on Javert's shoulder slipping down onto his chest. The officers heart was hammering a beat faster than a galloping horse. He bit his lip nervously, as he put everything together. Whatever Javert was dreaming of, however it was related to thunder, he was clearly petrified.  
 _CRASH ___  
Javert jerked as if he'd been stung, lifting his head to reveal wide-staring eyes. But the glaze that had covered them was gone, even if he was still terrified Javert was back in this time. They met eyes for a moment, then Javert shifted away from the embrace, though his eyes flickered to the window and the stormy sky outside. Unless his own wits had been affected by fear, Valjean was certain that he felt a shudder run through the other man. He reached over again, but Javert shrugged him off roughly. He settled for combing the long greying hair away from his lovers face, and managed, as he had hoped, to capture a hand in his own._ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“Last night, where were you?”  
“In bed, beside you” Javert's answers were as brief as every, delivered curtly between mouthfuls of his breakfast.  
Valjean sighed “You were dreaming.” Was his imagination or did Javert's eyes skitter nervously when he mentioned that? He hurried to reassure him “You didn't say anything incriminating, I swear. You were... screaming, crying out.”  
Javert blanched, his face draining of colour in seconds.   
Valjean saw his eyes glazing again. He sprang to his feet, clapping his hands in Javert's face   
“Javert”   
Javert blinked, eyes clearing. Valjean looked at him steadily, keeping his eyes very gentle. Javert looked at his hands, his voice very quiet “In the prison...”  
“Toulon?”  
“No... when I was a young boy. There was a huge thunderstorm. It was so loud, so dark.” The tall man had started to shake and Valjean walked around the table to rest a hand on his shoulders “I was so scared, so so scared...and mother wasn't there.” Javert's control broke, like a dam being blown, his body folding and tears running down his cheeks, unchecked and beyond checking. His voice came in ragged gasps “I called for her, and she didn't come...”  
Valjean embraced him, drawing him close as he had the night before. Javert turned in his seat resting his head on Valjean's chest, nestling unconsciously as he cried. Valjean let him, stroking the pulled back hair, slowly and soothingly   
“I'll always be here Javert, always. You need never be alone again.”_ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
